Friday, June 13, 2008

My parents watched Meet the Press as far as I can remember. This was the show that everyone watched on Sunday's to catch up on Washington, DC, but politics period.

I have not always agreed with Russert and MTP, but I respected the man. His political style of interviewing known as the "gotcha interview" was bar none the best in the business. He knew how to get information out of you. He did not beat any punches, he was always well sourced, and if any politician wanted to move forward, especially in the primaries, you had to be drilled by Russert.

His show is what ABCs This Week is not, or Wolf Blitzen's jarring taboidesq performance on CNN. It was all about sitting down and answering the questions. And if the politician could not answer it, you saw it.

I also loved The Tim Russert Show on MSNBC shown on Saturdays and re-run on Sundays. He talked to everyone who wrote a book, but his guest was just unabashed, real and natural. Watching this show, I always walked away with something new.

Barack Obama’s move to merge key elements of the Democratic National Committee into his own campaign’s Chicago headquarters appears aimed at the goal of a centralized and united Democratic Party.

The shift of the DNC’s political and field organizing operations to Chicago will consolidate the Democratic presidential campaign apparatus more than in either of the last two cycles, when staffers at DNC headquarters overlapped – and occasionally competed – with aides to Al Gore and John Kerry.

Obama’s move also seemed aimed at producing minimum conflict: The DNC didn’t immediately fire any of its staff, and Obama’s aides have publicly embraced DNC Chairman Howard Dean’s vision of a party competitive in all 50 states. But it also left no doubt about where the new center of power lies: On the 11th floor of an undistinguished office tower on Michigan Avenue.

term used to define an unmarried young woman (but can be a woman of any age) who has had a child. As mentioned before in another definition, most of the time it is used for when it was simply a sexual relationship, compared to ex-wife or girlfriend. Usually this has a negative connotation, a lot of baby mamas are seen as desperate, gold digging, emotionally starved, shady women who had a baby out of spite or to keep a man. Sometimes they may act like this because of missed child support payments, unfulfilled promises by the father, or convenient sex by the father. Either or both may exist in any situation.

Fox News had to backpeddle and state their producer showed poor judgment.

Although Shine doesn't name anyone responsible, the show's producer is Jessica Herzberg. A Fox staffer said that others internally were bothered by describing the potential first lady and very accomplished women — as the senator's "baby mama."

They should be disturbed. Michelle Obama is not Barack Obama's "baby mama". She is his WIFE and MOTHER of his children, period.

The Obama Campaign has launched a website, "Fight the Smears", which you can direct anyone with these constant bogus questions about Barack Obama. Also, where you send the campaign information on any smears.

::

Another Rush Limbaugh lie, questioning Obama not being a naturalized citizen. Daily Kos provides full view of Barack's birth certificate. Yes, the stupids are out running amuck!!

::

this is mark penn, the mastermind of hillary clinton's campaign

Scary, huh? To me, yes, and disgusting. But what is more important is for you to read the GQ article. He is now making the circuit to try to clear, clean his image and name. In this article it is crystal clear of how he wanted to go negative towards Obama, down racial divide, etc. And in the end, HE DID and see where he and Hillary Clinton are sitting at now. A must read.

::

Here is Keith's Special Comment on John McCain's statement of bringing the soliders home "not that important".

As proof, Emanuel references Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth, another Democrat who hasn't yet endorsed Obama. "Brad's got flooding in his district, his people are flooding," he said. "If you ask Brad what he's doing in November, he'll tell you: he's voting for Barack Obama. If you ask Boren, 'I'm voting for Barack Obama.' I mean, it's what they're doing in November, for those guys, that matters. Not what they're doing today, when they're working on their districts. And they'll support their candidate."

::

Wesley Clark on McCain, "national security terms he is largely untested and untried"

Finally, the Iowa Flooding. Cedar Rapids. I worked there for the Obama Campaign before the Iowa Caucuses. I am just floored by the flooding, we worked out of the downtown office and it is unrecognizable. All these places that I know from heart, flooded through. And the big rally in Cedar Rapids on the island? Flooded through. Unbelivable. See it all here.

Pray for all the flooding victims and pray the government will come through, POST HASTE.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Many can read much into this because McCain is running around here waving he is the change candidate. Overall, good for Obama and bad for McCain. McCain need to figure out how to break from Bush. That one coupling his record is in line with Bush is going to be hard.

Who do you think will win?

Obama 54 and McCain 30

Again, caution this is a very early poll these numbers will tighten by October. As we saw all through 2007, Clinton lead in every poll. If you believed all those poll numbers she would be the nominee. But it is encouraging.

Suburban Women preferred Clinton 47 to 36, over McCain. Obama has some work to do here, his numbers are 44-38 with the advantage to McCain. Again, this may also be too early since Clinton left the race. If we see the numbers improve on the next poll, then it was an emotional number, but if not Obama has WORK TO DO.

White Men prefer McCain 55-35. This number is why Obama leads by only 6 pts, which is out of the MOE (margin of error).

In the head-to-head matchup, Obama leads McCain among African Americans (83-7 percent), Hispanics (62-28), women (52-33), Catholics (47-40), independents (41-36) and even blue-collar workers (47-42). Obama is also ahead among those who said they voted for Clinton in the Democratic primaries (61-19).

Again this is a good sign for Obama, but we have got a LOT OF WORK to do. Meaning we need to get as many folks registered to vote. The Obama Campaign launched the VOTE FOR CHANGE DRIVE, find out how to get involved with the campaign's 50 State Voter Registration Drive, here.

::

this is california.....

Today I did a test. I called some friends around the country and asked them about gas prices. For starters, my sister immediately knew how much the gas was in her area, her answer, "4.10." Grant it, I did not ask how much is the gas there, I just wanted to know if it has changed how she operate with her 4 kids on a day-to-day basis. She told me, "I have got it down to doing everything in one swoop, if something gets missed, it has to wait. No more jumping in my car again." Then my brother weighed in. Again he took me down a different path and it was about SUVs. He told me that a co-worker went to 4 different dealers to trade his Navigator in, I know gas guzzler and said that 3 of the 4 dealerships refused the trade in. This was the first I had heard of THIS. So, it just goes to validate this story. And I talked to a couple of friends in California. One who lives in Los Angeles, who told me that he has started to ride his bike five miles to work. He loves the exercise, but plainly said the gas prices are killing him.

Overall, my conclusion is this for anyone voting for McCain:

IF YOU LIKE THIS ECONOMY,IF YOULIKE THIS NEVER-ENDING WAR,IF LIKE PAYING HIGH GAS PRICES,IF LIKE THE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH,IF YOU CAN'T WAIT TO INVADE IRAN,IF YOU LIKE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT,IF YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE END OF ROE V. WADE.IF YOU LIKE THE UNFAIR TRADE POLICIES THAT SEND JOBS AND TECHNOLOGY OVERSEAS,IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT PRACTICES TORTURE,IF YOU LIKE A GOVERNMENT THAT SPIES ON ITS OWN CITIZEN,IF YOU LIKE THE FACT THAT THE US IS ONE OF THE MOST REVILED NATIONS ON THE PLANET, THEN YOU'LL JUST LOVE McCAIN.

This election will be about our economic interest, bad news for the Republicans.

::

The McCain big snafu on The Today Show about bringing the troops home, "not that important":

His answer to the question was clear. It is irrelevant how many troops are there. Things are going well in Iraq, he claims, therefore we have to stay indefinitely and not even TALK about bringing the troops home. But remember that one year ago, his answer was the same; things were going badly in Iraq, therefore we needed to send MORE troops over!

This interview should make it crystal clear to every red-blooded American that in John McCain's world-view of all-war-all-the-time, THE TROOPS WILL NEVER BE COMING HOME FROM IRAQ. If things are good, we will stay. If things are bad, we will stay. War is the answer to every problem. Sure he says "he hates war." But his purported hatred of war doesn't influence his decisionmaking in any way. In my view McSame is simply reliving his Vietnam experience. He doesn't think we should have left Vietnam either, even though there was no end or goal in sight, and damned if he's going to do the same with Iraq. No, we have to achieve "honor" and "glory" and "victory"--even though he can't tell us what that is.

If anyone think or even assume that we are out of Iraq sooner with McCain, think again. I will even take this one notch further, we can't continue rotating the same men of our guard/reserve units continuously, I see and smell a draft coming with McCain. And finally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) speaks to Keith about this.

How can a candidate who admits he is stuck in the 20th century lead a country in the 21st, when he lacks even the most basic understanding of how this brave new century operates? He doesn't know how people interact and communicate. He doesn't know have the faintest idea of how they work. And this from the guy who once chaired the commerce committee!

Joe Lieberman lost the primary to Ned Lamont, thus struck out as an independent. One thing about many hard core democrats, they back the party, thus many stood on the sidelines and kept their distance.

Oh, another reason. It was a CHANGE MID-TERM ELECTION YEAR and people do REMEMBER.

::

Specifically, a top official on Joe Lieberman's 2006 Senate reelection campaign tells me that Lieberman's staff practically begged Barack Obama to come in and endorse him at a critical moment -- requests that Obama agreed to, helping Lieberman minimize the damage from challenger Ned Lamont's recent entry into the contest.

Begged? Begged the now Democratic Nominee for help in a senate race for his life. So what does he do? Joe Lieberman becomes a traitor.

There is a diary that has sat on the recommend list for a good part of the day and rightly so. The diarist asks THE DEMOCRATS, what the hell are you going to about Joe?

This is a good question. Are the democrats going to let him run rampant and smear Obama's name? Why don't they just kick him out of the democratic caucus? All these questions are relevant, but the answer will be this.

WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE NOVEMBER ELECTION

Joe Lieberman is a bitter, ungrateful, angry man. He is angry at the Democratic Party because they did not stand up for him. But they did during the Democratic Primary, and the ones that did took some serious heat from the left.

The problem is that Joe Lieberman forgot what it is to be a Democrat. He lost the Democratic Primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont. It was Joe Lieberman who decided to run as an Independent, thus he ran away from his party. It was his decision, all on him.

Joe Lieberman was shocked that Barack Obama called him out on distorting his record towards Israel. He should be. The other "Democrats" have not stood up to him, nor tried to correct his lies. We can not have a man who caucus with Democratic Senators one minute, then turn around and go on Fox or God Forbid, Rush Limbaugh and continue to distort not only Obama's record towards Israel, but soon the Democratic Party's position.

So, after all that Barack Obama has done for Joe Lieberman and has been heavily scrutinized for it, Lieberman turns around and endorses John McCain and becomes a bulldog against the very man he begged to help save his career.

The top Lieberman official, who was directly involved in securing Obama's help, tells me that the campaign was desperate for Obama to come to Connecticut in March of 2006, soon after Lamont entered the race.

"We needed him to strongly validate us as a candidate that liberal Democrats should not desert," the official tells me. "We went to the Obama operation with a very urgent plea for him to come out for us."

It's well known that Obama's 2006 endorsement was important. But it's not widely understood just how urgently the Lieberman people begged for Obama's help at a critical moment in Lieberman's career -- and in that light, just how much of a back-stabbing Lieberman's attacks on Obama now represent.

It is time for the Democratic Party to write off Joe Lieberman for good. He is a disgust and a travesty.

Maureen Dowd has an interesting op-ed in the NYT, "Mincing Michelle". One thing that she takes to task is the internet rumors, especially that "whitey tape", which is a tape that DOES NOT EXIST. Believe me, if it did it would have been OUT.

Also that E.D. Hill had to apologize on air for the "terrorist fist jab" mention on her show at Fox News. Again, the stupids are out hot and heavy.

“Michelle,” as one political observer puts it, “is a target-rich environment.”

Team Obama is hoping for the best. When she’s on her game, after all, Michelle is a knockout. And as one Obama booster enthuses: “Michelle’s story is a lot more mainstream American than Cindy McCain inheriting a brewery.”

But the campaign is preparing for the worst, planning to shore up Michelle with her own slick and quick war room staffed by top operatives from previous campaigns.

David Axelrod thinks “there’s a real recoil potential” if the Republicans go after Michelle. “I don’t think she’s projecting herself into the fray in a way that would justify that,” he said, adding that her charming and polite daughters, Malia and Sasha, are walking testimony to Michelle’s “loving parenting.”

They loved to hate Hillary Rodham Clinton. They loved to hate Teresa Heinz Kerry. And now, it appears, conservative voices are energetically taking on Michelle Obama.

"Mrs. Grievance" bellowed the cover of a recent National Review, which featured a photo of a fierce-looking Obama. The magazine's online edition titled an essay about her stump speech "America's Unhappiest Millionaire."

Michelle Malkin, the popular conservative blogger, called her "Obama's bitter half."

Even the relatively liberal online magazine Slate piled on. In a piece subtitled "Is Michelle Obama responsible for the Jeremiah Wright fiasco?" the contrarian Christopher Hitchens blamed her for her husband's pastor troubles since she was a member of the church first.

sigh....where have we seen this ugliness before? Remember, how the GOP victimized Hillary Clinton in the 90s? They are attempting to do this again. But watch for heavy pushback from the Obama Campaign.

And another interesting read on Michelle and feminism is here.(h/t jjp)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Hillary Clinton faces the largest campaign debt, ever, rumors are past 30M once the filings are with the FEC. Obama will have to help her out with fundraisers, etc., but she will be on the low list of the totem pole. With a 50 state strategy and the DNC for much needed funds, this will take precedent.

Besides the $11.4 million of her own money that Mrs. Clinton lent her campaign, she had about $9.5 million in unpaid bills to vendors at the end of April, according to her most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.

It is unclear how much debt she will ultimately report, because the campaign is still adding up the figures for May, which it must file to the commission by June 20. But Mo Elleithee, a campaign spokesman, said, “We don’t expect the debt number to look significantly different than it did on our last report.”

::

George W. Bush, our president's approval rating is at an all time low. nuff said.

This is one thing that I never understood about the Obama Campaign, that is how can you let these email/internet smears just stay out there. There is STILL, even after the Reverend Wright fiasco, close to 20% of the population that believe he is a muslim. This need to be addressed NOW. And yes, I am glad that it is about time.

Barack Obama is recruiting senior staff to a new unit which will combat virulent rumour campaigns on the internet that threaten to cost him votes in the presidential election against John McCain.

The unit is part of a huge expansion of Obama's campaign team as he shifts from the Democratic nomination race to the campaign for November's election.

As well as the rumour-mongering problem, units are being set up to deal with other perceived vulnerable points, including off-the-cuff remarks by his wife Michelle. McCain's wife, Cindy, questioned Michelle's patriotism in February after she said: "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."

::

Unity for Change

This is starting nationwide on June 28, 2008. These are house parties, the ones organized before the primary season to introduce many to Barack and Michelle Obama. These parties were also used as fundraisers.

Musharraf, whom President Bush considers one of America's closest allies in the war on terrorism, denied that Bush gives orders to Pakistan, a charge that's constantly levelled against both men.

The Pakistani president also used his first press conference in six months to reject speculation that he's about to be forced out of office, rumors that have grown so strong that Bush called him at the end of last month to pledge continued American support. Musharraf came out fighting, saying that he isn't willing to accept the newly elected Pakistani government's plan to reduce him to a ceremonial role.

This is a national registration plan ongoing by the Obama Campaign. We have organization and infrastructure set up in all 50 states, along with passionate and ready to go staff from the Obama Campaign.

Getting folks to vote is critical for an Obama win in November. We witnessed record turnout in state after state. And let us not even talk about the caucuses going through the roof from participation.

Folks, we need to ramp up the voter registration, period.

Got nothing to do, but want to participate? This is easy, just asking all these kids that will be 18 in November or many who are disenchanted with politics to take a chance and REGISTER to VOTE.

"The Joshua Generation project will be the Obama campaign's outreach to young people of faith. There's unprecedented energy and excitement for Obama among young evangelicals and Catholics. The Joshua Generation project will tap into that excitement and provide young people of faith opportunities to stand up for their values and move the campaign forward."

The official rollout won't be for another two weeks or so, but The Brody File has been told the activities will include house parties, blogging, concerts and more.

All that is described above is how The Obama Campaign started. I am going to track this with interest, because this can explode into new voters at the polls in November, but even more so removing a serious voter block from the Republicans. Will keep you informed.

Leading Democratic fundraisers predict that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will raise hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few months if he opts out of public financing and begins raising money for the general election.

Specifically, they say Obama could raise $100 million in June and could attract 2.5 million to 3 million new donors to his campaign.

These fundraisers say Obama could increase his fundraising dramatically because of three factors: a boost of enthusiasm among Obama donors following his clinching of the nomination; the migration of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) donors to his camp; and the mobilization of big Democratic donors who have given little so far this year.

Record-breaking projections give Obama strong incentive to pass up $85 million in public funds that his opponent, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has said he would accept.

Folks, we will need every single penny coming this fall. With full staffing in all 50 States, YES WE NEED EVERY PENNY.

The Obama Train is rolling along this summer and fall for all 50 States, Get on Board Now....

The pain is still there and real. If Barack Obama had lost or it was perceived the nomination was stolen from him, we would feel disenchanted. When we speak to Hillary Supporters it should not be about gloating, but about bringing them aboard and letting them know we need them. Read this following diary by desmoinesdem simply titled: "Friendly advice: How to talk to non-supporters about Obama."

John McCain may be the presumed Republican presidential nominee, but he’s still not connecting with a critical group of donors the way President Bush did during his 2004 re-election campaign.

The extensive network of partisan supporters that helped President Bush break fundraising records on his way to two terms in office has, for an array of reasons, yet to rally around the Arizona senator.

::

Videos

how candidates will fix economy?

chuck todd, first read

chokehold on the middle-class

::

Finally, Senator Joe Lieberman is a disgrace. There were words exchanged between Obama and Lieberman last week on the senate floor.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the self-described "Independent Democrat" who caucuses with the Democratic party in the Senate even though he has endorsed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, got some tough talk from Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, yesterday about his advocacy for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and the general tone of the campaign, Democratic sources tell ABC News.

Returning to the Senate after his securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama and Lieberman greeted each on the Senate floor in the Well as they were voting on the budget resolution.

They shook hands. But Obama didn’t let go, leading Lieberman - cordially - by the hand across the room into a corner on the Democratic side, where Democratic sources tell ABC News he delivered some tough words for the junior senator from Connecticut, who had just minutes before hammered Obama's speech before the pro-Israel group AIPAC in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign.

Lieberman has purposely extorted and is trying to insinuate that Obama is not friends for Israel.

Now Lieberman will not be intimidated by "sleazy tactics"? Sleazy? Of telling the truth of this turncoat democrat? He is only caucusing with the democrats to hold onto his chairmanships in the senate. I am waiting for Leader Harry Reid to weigh in on this. I am sure he is not going to let this bitter senator continue to keep up b.s. while we are trying to win in November. In November, Lieberman need to pack his goods and go over to the Republicans, he is already one anyway, campaigning for McCain, so just go JOE.

An aide to the McCain-backing Senator from Connecticut tells The Page: “If the Obama campaign thinks they are going to intimidate Joe Lieberman with these sleazy tactics then they are sorely mistaken.”

"I'm going to be partnering up with Elizabeth Edwards - we're going to be figuring all this out," Obama said when addressing his proposed reform to the health care system.

Former Senator John Edwards endorsed Obama on May 14, but his wife is a different case: remaining neutral in the race since her husband dropped his own presidential bid.

Mrs. Edwards has stated in the past that she supported Senator Hillary Clinton's health care plan because it mandated people to have health insurance – a requirement that Senator Obama's plan does not include.

"I don't think there's two people in the country who have done more to elevate the debate about politics who have focused on critical issues like health care and who have made us all think about our obligations to create one America," Obama said of the couple, remarking that over the 16 month primary process he has gotten to know them well.

I fully see Elizabeth in this role. She is a true advocate for single payer healthcare in this country. If she and Obama can come together for this critical issue, I can do nothing but applaud both.

He has a lot of nerve. Here is a 71, soon to be 72 year old man who is totally clueless on the economy, only cares about winning a victory in Iraq, does not have to worry about $4/plus gas prices and will continue the Bush Mandate.

This election will be about every citizen's economic interest. We will either continue to go down a never-ending hole, or demand change and that is Obama.

Scott McClellan, former Bush Administration Press Secretary and author of a scathing all book about this administration "What Happened", is going to the Hill to testify in front of the Congressional Judiciary Committee. Folks, if this man tells the truth, which I think he will, expect some bombshells to come out of his mouth. And expect the White House to attempt him from testifying.

::

A shoutout to my favorite pollster, poblano a.k.a. Nate Silver, is profiled in the latest Newsweek. If you have not checked out is website, please look to the left of this blog, he lives at fivethirtyeight.com. His predictions have put the professional pollsters to shame.

::

Obama VP Committee on the Hill in closed door meeting with members of congress about, guess what? Promising VP PICKS!!!!

Another note, new polling suggests a mixed bag with Hillary Clinton on the ticket with Barack Obama. Always remember, she is beloved with the Democratic base, outside of that base, NOT SO MUCH.

::

And John McCain on the economy and going after the "Hillary Democrats", the women. I know the emotions are raw, but once women know McCain's position on the woman's right to choose, equal pay, Iraq War, Headstart for our Children, many will stand with Obama in the end.

::

had to add this smoking video by Jill Scott and George Benson singing "Summertime"....priceless

First the African-American churches are getting organized and mobilized. I read this article in the Boston Herald, but I already knew this as my own church is organizing already.

This year, more than perhaps any in American history, experts say, the role of African-American churches could help decide the election.

Just as they helped catapult John F. Kennedy to the presidency nearly a half-century ago, local black ministers already are mobilizing to get out the vote in November. And their backing could help Sen. Barack Obama become the first African-American president.

Expect RECORD TURNOUT NATIONWIDE with the African-American group. Expect LONG LINES with this group and expect them to DELIVER for Obama in record numbers.

Millions of African-Americans celebrated Barack Obama’s historic victory, seeing in it a reflection — sudden and shocking — of their own expanded horizons. But whether Mr. Obama captures the White House in November will depend on how he is seen by white Americans. Indeed, some people argue that one of the reasons Mr. Obama was able to defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was that a large number of white voters saw him as “post racial.”

In other words, Mr. Obama was black, but not too black.

I don't get this. Obama is black, but not too black? WTF? What is too black? Is it the color of one's skin? Is it the educational realm of a person's resume? Is it not wearing an afro? Is it not having braids? Is it the community you come from? Is it the way I or others speak?

What is it?

We need to get past this. For me, this is why Obama's candidacy is important. If he wins and Hillary was right on this one, he opens doors for all those "identified groups on job applications in this country", but more importantly if we can transcend past race, we can move this country forward together.

Senator Barack Obama’s general election plan calls for broadening the electoral map by challenging Senator John McCain in typically Republican states — from North Carolina to Missouri to Montana — as Mr. Obama seeks to take advantage of voter turnout operations built in nearly 50 states in the long Democratic nomination battle, aides said.

With gas prices at $4/plus across this country, folks losing their homes at record pace, job loss, The Iraq War, China/India gobbling up the gas pushing the prices higher and higher for the consumer, the dollar is not worth spit internationally, food prices inflated, Katrina still fucked up in NOLA, people still mad as hell in Minnesota on that bridge collapse, infrastructure in this country crumbling, do the republicans think people are not angry at what they did to this country?

I believe, in the end, people will vote their ECONOMIC interest and that is not on the side of the Republicans. We have weathered one of the worst presidential administrations in the history of this country. Anyone associated with those criminals at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, should leave and never come in front of the American public again.

"I think we've got a world of problems," said one Republican strategist with extensive experience in presidential campaigns. He said this came home to him with a thud when he watched Obama and McCain give speeches last Tuesday, with the Democrat speaking before "20,000 screaming fans, while John McCain looked every bit of his 72 years" in a speech televised from New Orleans. This Republican cited the liberal blogger Atrios' description of McCain's speech with a green backdrop that made McCain "look like the cottage cheese in a lime Jell-O salad."

All you have to do is look at the speeches given last Tuesday night. McCain came off as an old, ineffective, tired 72 year old man.

This GOP operative is RIGHT. You see 20K enthusiastic people versus a room of doggy old people. And this is nothing against the elders, but when you have a drastic difference of appearance and style, and this is a change election, who will you tune into to hear?

A terrorist jab? If this is the case, come and ARREST ME. Millions of folk have been doing this 'dap' for YEARS.

This is as weak as weak can get. And we should not be surprised it came from that brilliantly smart staff of FOX!!!!

Click on the link to listen to that crap.

::

And since I am from Chicago, we have been following the R. Kelly Trial. Those not familiar with this Grammy award winning artist, most noted for his pen of "I Believe I Can Fly" tune is in a heated trial on child pornography.

Right now it appears that Kelly is using the "Shaggy" defense, "It Wasn't Me".

The high-priced defense team likened the film-editing trick to the technology used in "Little Man," the 2006 film in which Marlon Wayans was digitally manipulated to look like a 1-year-old baby. (He actually played a diminutive thief whom Shawn Wayans mistakes as his newly adopted son, but we'll spare you the rest of that painful plot summary.)

MTV News caught up to Shawn Wayans recently and asked him how difficult such an endeavor would be. The actor seemed to agree with the prosecution's expert witnesses, who said the process would be extremely expensive and wholly time consuming.

"It's not easy and it's very complicated," Wayans told MTV. "It takes a lot of special effects guys to plot that out."

Wayans said he didn't want to get involved in the trial and described the so-called "Little Man" defense as "very creative." Indeed, it may be the best press the movie has ever received, given that one critic called the widely panned film "fatuous, unfunny and profoundly unentertaining."

Again, this is a stretch, for real.

When this story broke, it was about Kelly having sex with underage girls, around 13-15 year olds. The artist said it was not him, tried to prop up his brother, but he did not take that bait, especially when you are looking at the jail time starting around 25 years.

The initial tape was sent to the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. The paper turned the tape over to the D.A.

The irony of this is that that tape was manufactured like wild fire. I know several people who saw this tape and in their conclusion, it was Kelly. Oh, the tape was sold on just about every corner in Chicago and went viral on the internet.

Kelly is definitely in a fight for his life. Jail time ends his production as an artist and he is one of the best writers in this business.

My take? From following this trial and his money influence to continually push this trial back, rumor of payola of witnesses, along with some charges being thrown out over the course, I think he is guilty.

And don't forget he married late hip/hop artist, Aaliyah, she was 15 or 16. Her parents whisked her away from him, in a hurry, along with an annulment.

I know many will say, what about those girls? What about their parents? Etc.? And I say, what about being an adult and knowing what you are doing is legally and morally WRONG. What about that?

The Vice Presidential QuestIt has not even been one week since Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Nominee title, that we now must listen to blather about Hillary Clinton being his VP nod.

I wrote earlier on Wednesday, that it is Obama's choice and his choice only. In fact, it was Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, who stated with his eloquent charm that, "You can't leverage the President of the United States to make you Vice President. It's like an arranged marriage it doesn't work," said Rendell Thursday afternoon. "I don't think you're entitled. I think the presidential nominee has the right to pick someone he or she is comfortable with, compatible with." I hope the Clinton surrogates get and UNDERSTAND what Rendell said.

Obama has indicated strongly that the next time he talks of VP it will be when he announces the VP candidate. This had to be stated since the Clinton surrogates were hot and heavy handed in trying to force Obama's hand for VP selection by going to the media and hocking Clinton's name. This backfired as Obama announced his three team VP selection committee of Jim Johnson, Eric Holder and Caroline Kennedy. Thus, we saw a Clinton press release stating she is not interested or seeking the VP slot.

So, we all need to take Obama's lead and chill. If Clinton can pass the vetting process, along with her husband and if Barack feels she would be an asset to the ticket, then fine. What we don't want is a pressured candidate to accept a nominee as John Kerry was pressured to do with John Edwards. They were two different individuals who were not playing the same game during that campaign and it showed.

Barack Obama will pick the best and most qualified person to be his running mate, not the other way around. This will also include being in synch, the same vision, and no drama added going forward; an Obama MANDATE for what has made his campaign a success within, as well as outward.

Barack Obama was campaigning last October in South Carolina when he got an urgent call from Penny Pritzker, the hotel heiress who leads his campaign's finance committee. About 200 of his biggest fund raisers were meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, and among them, near panic was setting in. Pritzker's team had raised money faster than any other campaign ever had. Its candidate was drawing mega-crowds wherever he went. Yet he was still running at least 20 points behind Hillary Clinton in polls. His above-the-fray brand of politics just wasn't getting the job done, and some of his top moneymen were urging him to rethink his strategy, shake up his staff, go negative. You'd better get here, Pritzker told Obama. And fast.

Obama made an unscheduled appearance that Sunday night and called for a show of hands from his finance committee. "Can I see how many people in this room I told that this was going to be easy?" he asked. "If anybody signed up thinking it was going to be easy, then I didn't make myself clear." A win in Iowa, Obama promised, would give him the momentum he needed to win across the map — but his backers wouldn't see much evidence of progress before then. "We're up against the most formidable team in 25 years," he said. "But we've got a plan, and we've got to have faith in it."

More than seven months later, that faith has been rewarded. The 2008 presidential campaign has produced its share of surprises, but one of the most important is that a newcomer from Chicago put together by far the best political operation of either party. Obama's campaign has been that rare, frictionless machine that runs with the energy of an insurgency and the efficiency of a corporation. His team has lacked what his rivals' have specialized in: there have been no staff shake-ups, no financial crises, no change in game plan and no visible strife. Even its campaign slogan — "Change we can believe in" — has remained the same. Time Magazine, continue

Portugal Builds Biggest Solar & Alt Energy Systems by FishOutofWater; What's Going On in the Oil Market? by bonddad; Hillary Clinton: A Personal View by DemFromCT; America should have listened to Jimmy Carter on Energy in 1977. by TomP; The six second video clip that mystified a nation by JedReport; Leaked memo: McCain is playing you, Clinton supporters by upstate girl; MUST READ: Whitey Hoax blown wide open by The Termite; If Clinton Really Wanted to Be VP... by MissLaura; Waxman Closing in on Cheney's Role in Outing Plame by emptywheel; Tonight, Congressman Robert Wexler spoke to his mostly pro-Clinton constituents by jdodsonvls; Friends of Bill Warn Obama: Do Not Trust Clintons by wisconsin girl; New Abramoff Plea is Trouble for McCain & the GOP by dengre

WHEN Barack Obama achieved his historic victory on Tuesday night, the battle was joined between two Americas. Not John Edwards’s two Americas, divided between rich and poor. Not the Americas split by race, gender, party or ideology. What looms instead is an epic showdown between two wildly different visions of the country, from the ground up.

On one side stands Mr. Obama’s resolutely cheerful embrace of the future. His vision is inseparable from his identity, both as a rookie with a slim Washington résumé and as a black American whose triumph was regarded as improbable by voters of all races only months ago. On the other is John McCain’s promise of a wise warrior’s vigilant conservation of the past. His vision, too, is inseparable from his identity — as a government lifer who has spent his entire career in service, whether in the Navy or Washington.

Given the dividing line separating the two Americas of 2008, a ticket uniting Mr. McCain and Hillary Clinton might actually be a better fit than the Obama-Clinton “dream ticket,” despite their differences on the issues. Never was this more evident than Tuesday night, when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain both completely misread a one-of-a-kind historical moment as they tried to cling to the prerogatives of the 20th century’s old guard. Frank Rich, NYT

It is over. Though not as it should have been, but it is over. Hillary Clinton conceded, Saturday, June 7, 2008.

Many have not liked the way that the Clintons have conducted themselves during this primary season. Point noted.

Many did not like how the dog whistle tactics were used against Barack Obama. Point noted.

Many did not like how the Clinton surrogates had behaved, and there were many. Point noted.

Many are very angered at Hillary Clinton for not recognizing the historical moment of Barack Obama’s win. Point noted.

Many are still livid that she did not concede until four days later and was still plotting to hang around. Point noted.

But in the end, she did the right thing, even though she was pressured to do so. The only thing that matters is unity, Democrats with our Independent and Republican friends, standing side-by-side to defeat the Republicans in the fall. Our leader is Barack Obama, we are his army, his coalition, along with the Clintons.

So, let’s move on. It is time to write about defeating John McCain and the Republicans. The issues are too grave to let this squabbling continue. It is over. Barack Obama is the Democratic Presumptive Nominee and we need to get it together to win in November.

Why Hillary Lost? By some of the best political front pagers in the blogosphere......

Why Clinton Lost (And Why Obama Just May Win Big In November) by georgia10

Why Clinton Lost: She Fought the Last War, With the Wrong Generals, and Not Enough of an Army by DHinMI

ok, i am not gonna lie. i have become the al rodgers, jr. of the slides. can't help it. with so many pictures to pick, it is only right. hail to the master al, though. it has been a HELL OF A WEEK. barack securing the nomination, hillary don't want to leave yet, hillary being pushed off the stage, hillary meeting with barack and hillary finally endorsing obama fully. man, is it that hard to lose? this is a primary race that many books will be written about, and it will all focus on the skinny, 2 year u.s. senator from illinois beating the clinton brand. that is the story for years to come. ok, we are onto mcsame, and it is time to go after him in earnest. we know by november it will not be all sugar and spice. whatever you are doing, remember to continue to stay engaged and focus on obama and not the drama....

subscribe hereicebergslim on Daily Kos ShareNote: If you are viewing this in Firefox, on 17" monitor or smaller, the left panel may be blown. This is a firefox issue, if you view this in IE, Safari, Opera, Google Chrome, no issue. FYI.